A Minnesota Republican state senator is drawing a hard line inside her own party, pleading with conservatives to stop spreading conspiracy theories tying the assassination of a Democratic leader to the massive fraud scandal currently roiling the state.
“I am a Minnesota Republican legislator. I never agreed with Melissa. Not once. But I’m begging people to stop sharing this conspiracy theory,” State Sen. Julia Coleman wrote on X.
Sept 11, 2016; Atlantic City, NJ, USA; Sara Foster is shown on the red carpet before the Miss America 2017 pagent at the Boardwalk Hall. Mandatory credit: Thomas P. Costello/Asbury Park Press via USA TODAY NETWORK
Coleman’s rebuke was aimed at a viral post from Sara Foster, the daughter of music mogul David Foster, who speculated that the murder of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman was “connected” to a sprawling fraud investigation involving billions in federal funds.
The fraud case — described by prosecutors as potentially involving nearly $9 billion in stolen money from childcare and Medicaid programs — has become a flashpoint in MAGA media. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson called it “a staggering, industrial-scale fraud,” emphasizing that it was not the work of a few isolated actors.
But the case has taken on a darker political dimension as right-wing figures, including President Donald Trump, have seized on the fact that most defendants charged so far are Somali Americans. Trump and his allies have labeled Minnesota a “hub of fraudulent money laundering,” while Trump himself has made sweeping, dehumanizing claims about Somali immigrants and called for Rep. Ilhan Omar to be thrown “out of the country.”
The conspiracy engine accelerated this week after MAGA YouTuber Nick Shirley released a video confronting Somali-owned daycare centers. The clip was amplified by Vice President JD Vance and FBI Director Kash Patel, who claimed it was “just the tip of a very large iceberg.”
Against that backdrop, Foster jumped into the online firestorm, reposting a June message from far-right influencer Nick Sortor and suggesting Hortman’s murder was tied to the fraud scandal.
“So are we just planning on pretending like her murder isn’t connected to the multi billion fraud scandal just uncovered?” Foster wrote.
The claim spread fast. Foster’s post racked up 1.8 million views, tens of thousands of likes, and endorsements from other conservative figures and celebrities. Some went further, falsely implying Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was somehow responsible for Hortman’s death.
Coleman forcefully shut that down.
“She is not terrified in this video,” Coleman wrote, referring to the clip shared by Sortor. “She’s crying because she had to take this vote to keep the government open, and it was incredibly hard for her.”
Coleman acknowledged that she and Hortman were political opponents but defended her character, saying the late Democratic leader carried the emotional weight of her decisions openly.
“That’s who she was as a leader,” Coleman wrote. “Even though I didn’t agree with her, I could tell her heart was absolutely in it.”
Coleman also addressed the reality of the crime. Hortman and her husband were allegedly killed by anti-abortion evangelical Vance Boelter, who left behind a list of roughly 70 potential targets that included Walz, Omar, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, and Tammy Baldwin.
“Tim Walz had nothing to do with the assassinations. The fraud had nothing to do with the assassinations,” Coleman wrote. “The assassin was deranged. Completely and utterly deranged. And Minnesota lost a good woman because of it.”
Her message ended with a direct plea to Foster and others amplifying the theory.
“Please, unless you have evidence, stop trying to get social media clout off the death of a good person that you know nothing about,” Coleman said.
